


and they were neighbors

by ratgotico



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27607103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratgotico/pseuds/ratgotico
Summary: Dean of local community college moves next door to handsome lawyer, what happens next will warm your heart.Alternate universe where Jeff never stopped working as a lawyer, and thus didn't study at Greendale.
Relationships: Dean Craig Pelton/Jeff Winger
Comments: 11
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

Working at Greendale wasn’t about prestige or recognition or anything those more important and influential universities had. It was about welcoming and accepting everyone as they were. Greendale wasn’t just a community college, it was an experience, a hot chocolate with marshmallows during a freezing winter. Which is why it certainly didn’t pay as well as other, more honorable, “not as cozy” places. But it wasn’t all about the money either, Craig told himself.

At least he had found an okay apartment to rent this time around. The area was nice, and the place itself was of decent size. But what really assured him he had made the right choice was a lucky encounter with his next door neighbor. Craig was just coming back from the grocery store, looking for the keys in his pocket, when this man came out of the elevator. He had a tight shirt and shorts on, and he looked like he had just come from a run because of all the sweat, and how his face and neck were more red, and sure, Craig was staring, but could anyone really blame him?

In his distraction he dropped the two paper bags he was holding and his groceries fell out. On top of that, he hadn’t even managed to find his keys yet. The stranger walked by and actually stopped to help him pick his things off the floor.

“Oh, uh, thank you”, Craig smiled at him. Yeah, maybe his eggs were all broken now, but at least it was for a good cause.

“No problem”, the man replied. “So, you’re the new neighbor?”

“I guess I am!”, Craig giggled. “And you live here, right next door?”

“Yeah.”

There was a moment of awkward silence, as the stranger wasn’t very enthusiastic about talking to his weird new neighbor, and Craig was too distracted by the stranger’s appearance to remember they were having a conversation in the first place.

“I’m Jeff, by the way”, Jeff said, extending a hand.

“Oh! I’m Craig”, he said, still smiling at him.

“Well, nice to meet you, Craig”, Jeff said, without much meaning. Craig stared at Jeff’s door a few moments after it closed. He still hadn’t found his own keys.

* * *

Craig was kind of a people’s person, and he got to know most of his other neighbors in a relatively short time. He did take a little offense at some of the responses he got when he mentioned he was the Dean of Greendale Community College, which varied between not knowing about it and “that place?”, followed by a puzzled look. By far his favorite person in the building was a nice lady whose response had been asking about Luis Guzmán graduating there.

Craig took the opportunity to ask her about Jeff. Because he was his next door neighbor, and all that, so he should know him a bit more for very plausible reasons, like safety. Not because he had a crush on him already.

“Winger? He doesn’t talk much, but he seems like a nice man. We’ve never had any complaints about him, if that’s what you’re worried about. I heard he’s a lawyer so he seems to be the kind who does everything right.”

* * *

Was knocking on your neighbor’s door to ask for a cup of sugar considered rude nowadays? Because Craig was in dire need for some pancakes to start his day with a sweet, fluffy treat covered in maple syrup and butter, but he had forgotten to go grocery shopping on his way back from work last night and… Well, by doing this he’d have another chance to talk to his next door neighbor.

As the days went by, Craig had found out Jeff wasn’t just a nice man and a lawyer, he was also a cool guy who left his apartment wearing things like sunglasses and aviators and expensive jackets and with his hair always looking perfect somehow. He was so charming he walked through that corridor as if he was walking down the runway.

He had looked him up also, and found out that _Jeffrey Winger_ worked in a big firm up until recently, which definitely explained the nice clothes. And the attitude.

This also meant the chances of him willingly talking to Craig were very small. So, really, he had nothing to loose. He went to Jeff’s door and rang the doorbell and waited. And then waited some more. Eventually Jeff did answer, looking fresh as he always did, but also as if he had just gotten up. The frowning helped confirm this, too.

“What?”

“Do you have sugar?”

“… Is this going to turn into a weird pickup line or did you really come here at this hour in the morning to ask me for sugar?”

“Oh, c’mon Jeffrey, it’s not that early. I know it’s Sunday, but still...”

Jeff’s eyes widened. “Jeffrey?”

“That’s your name, right? I looked you up on Google.”

“Why?”

“Because the one nice lady who has heard nice things about my community college said you were a lawyer?”, he said, much more nervously at this point. “I’m sorry! I just wanted to make some pancakes and I didn’t have any sugar!”

“Jeez, okay, calm down. Just… Wait here.”

Jeff came back with an unopened pack of sugar. Craig was feeling much better now, knowing no one was mad at him.

“Thank you so much, Jeffrey! I’ll bring the rest back when I’m done.”

“Just… Keep it.”

Craig hugged the sugar close to him as if it was a gift.

“Well, do you want some pancakes, then?”

“No, thanks.” And then when Craig looked visibly disappointed, he added, “I don’t eat carbs.”

“Oh. I can make something else for you! What do you like? Eggs? I can make you an omelet.”

Jeff braced himself on the door frame. “Are you seriously offering to make me breakfast?”

“Yes!”

“Because you’re into me.”

Craig was slightly taken aback by the bold statement, but then again it’s not as if he were any good at hiding it. “… Maybe?”

Jeff narrowed his eyes at him, but he didn’t look offended or anything. More like he was thinking about it.

He crossed his arms. “I’ll allow it.”

* * *

Working at Greendale did not make much money, but that didn’t deter Craig from having enough of it to buy his costumes – plus accessories, of course. He saved what he could in every other way. So what if his regular wardrobe didn’t even fit him right? Those clothes didn’t matter much. They were comfortable for day to day wearing, so they were fine.

This weekend though, he had a nice night out planned for himself, and a pretty dress, wig and high heels to go with it.

He wasn’t sure if he had terrible or amazing luck when he closed the door of his apartment at the same time as Jeffrey seemed to be leaving his. Craig figured he would at least get to enjoy seeing Jeffrey looking even more handsome all dressed up before whatever else happened between them when he saw him like this.

“Jeffrey”, Craig greeted him.

“Craig”, Jeff replied. “You look… Different.”

Craig smiled at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Jeff gave him a half smile. So maybe it was good luck.

They walked down the corridor together.

“As you may know, I’m someone who likes to keep to himself and not do research about my neighbors on Google”, Jeff started.

“You should look up Greendale, actually, any publicity we can get is good publicity.”

“Not going to. But I do have to ask, why does it look like these are the nicest clothes you own?”

“This?”, Craig moved his hand through the fabric. “I think I still have a dress or two with better material than this.”

Jeff stared at him, seemingly confused. “Aren’t you the dean of a college? Don’t you have, you know, clothes for that?”

Craig laughed at him. “ _These_ are my Dean clothes, silly.”

* * *

Greendale had a tiny little situation going on with a lawsuit, and Craig most surely could not afford to hire an actual lawyer. Fortunately, he did live right next to one. Unfortunately, he didn’t know if he and Jeffrey were at the level of friendship that he would just offer legal advice to Craig for free. Or if they were at any level at all, really. Craig could always drop to his knees and beg, of course, but he had a feeling that would just earn him a door slam to the face in this case.

Then again, he had nothing to loose, so he went knocking on Jeffrey’s door once more. Jeff mostly just stared at him, unimpressed, while Craig went on and on about how desperate he was, until Jeffrey sighed and let him in.

“Consider this my charity work for the week”, Jeff said, guiding them to the couch. There were piles of paper on the coffee table, and some around the floor. Aside from that, everything seemed very neat and clean and untouched, Craig noticed. Very different from his own, messy apartment.

“Thank you, Jeffrey, I’m sure karma will reward you for this one. And if it doesn’t, I can always do it instead.”

“Pass. Just give me the papers.”

As he read through them, Jeff seemed to show increased concern.

“Is it too bad?”, Craig asked.

Jeff put down the papers. “The lawsuit? No. It’s a joke. But that seems to be a common theme with this school and frankly, I don’t understand any of it.”

Craig tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”

Jeff paused for a moment. “Look, don’t get upset with me for this. I didn’t know you at the time, and I barely know you right now, but I just wouldn’t go through with this kind of thing nowadays. We thought we had a big case with your school in my old firm. You violate so many safety regulations, and probably every other kind too, and yet, somehow, no one ever wants to turn against this place.”

Craig gasped. “So you do know Greendale!”

“… That’s all you took from what I just said?”

“Oh, none of that makes me upset, I know that’s what lawyers do”, Craig waved his hand, dismissively. “And if I got upset with you I would be the loser here. Plus, knowing that just makes me even more proud of our students. Greendale is special like that.”

“So you actually use a wig and heels to work?”

“Depends on the day, actually, but sure!”

They sat in silence.

“Well, how about you, Jeffrey. Don’t you have any attachments to the place you work, too?”

“Me?” Jeff laughed. “Definitely not. I mean, it’s not as if I didn’t have fun in my old firm. I was mostly in it for the money, you know, as most normal humans tend to be when they work. And the people were cool, sure, but mostly fake, just like how they also tend to be in a normal workplace. The kind you have fun with in the moment, and then you leave and go home to your personal, real life.”

“But what about your friends?”

“Ugh”, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know. What about _your_ friends? I don’t see anyone making a line to visit you in your apartment.”

Craig looked down. “I’m just not really… As close to the professors and the others working there. As I’m the Dean, it can be a little intimidating.”

“So what’s the point, then?” Jeff asked. “If you don’t have money, or friends, what’s so special about working at Greendale?”

Craig’s lips trembled as he pouted. “I think I should go”, he said, as he ran out of the apartment.

* * *

It didn’t take much to make Craig cry, it was true, but that didn’t mean his feelings were any less true or that Jeff hadn’t crossed a line right there. And to think he had even already imagined him teaching at Greendale as a law professor.

It was a few days of avoiding eye contact with each other down the hall (which was significantly harder on Craig’s part) until the day his door bell rang and Jeff was the one standing there when Craig opened the door. Had it been under usual circumstances, Craig might’ve passed out from that alone, but he was still upset at Jeff, so he was keeping it together.

“Hello Jeffrey. Did you take pity on me and came to offer me money and friendship? Since as you may know, I don’t have any of those things.”

“I’m sorry, I clearly hurt your feelings by saying that. Can I come in for a moment?”

Craig’s brain short circuited. “You… Wanna step inside… My apartment? Whoa- I mean sure. But be aware you are stepping into the place of someone with no money or friends.”

Jeff sighed. “Just hear me out. This isn’t an excuse to what I said before, but… I was kind of jealous.”

“Jealous? Of me?”

“I told you the people were fake. But I did have a friend there. Or, the closest thing to a friend I could have in that firm. And then when I got fired, I found out he had set me up. Everything there was about power and taking advantage of each other. Greendale seems like it’s so united no one is willing to throw it under the bus even if it’s a literal death trap. You said it was special, and I mean it when I say I don’t understand that. But I do know it’s better than what I had.”

Craig got closer to Jeff and put a hand to his shoulder. “Jeffrey, I’m sorry that happened to you.” Craig let his hand linger there for a moment, genuinely meaning for it to be comforting. Jeff allowed it.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I recently realized the Jeffrey who used to work there was kind of a dick anyway.”

Craig smiled at him. “And the Jeffrey now?”

“Well, he’s here, apologizing, for starters. And he might want to step a foot inside Greendale one of these days to know what all the fuss is about.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So it finally happened. Greendale is selling out to corporations and sending their handsome suits to intimidate us”, Britta said, crossing her arms.

“Britta! Don’t be rude! You don’t even know who this is.”

“Oh, I know a corporate type when I see one”, she stared at Jeff.

“Alright, enough of that. This is just my neighbor Jeffrey, and I’m giving him a tour of our beloved community college. I know seeing someone so dressed up walking around here, except for me, is odd, but he’s going to be on his way to work after swinging by, as he’s a lawyer-”

“Hah!”, Britta pointed at them. “I knew it. Lawyers are even worse.”

Annie looked at Craig. “A lawyer? Dean”, she started whispering, “this doesn’t have anything to do with the lawsuit, does it?”

“Is that a bell I hear? Ok, girls, time to get to class!”, he pushed them towards the hall, then turned back to Jeff. “Sorry about that, ugh, Britta can be a bit much. Why don’t we go to my office now to end the tour? I’ve been just dying to show you my costumes ever since you asked about my dress.”

Jeff snickered. “I guess this is going about as well as I expected it to.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Sure. Every time I’ve been insulted I’ve also been complimented. I’m kinda into it.”

“That’s great! because there’s something I wanted to ask you. You may have realized it’s not everyday we have guys like you here. And I don’t mean devilish handsome guys, I mean, you know, professionals.”

“That would explain why your Spanish teacher came up to me and asked if I thought I was better than him, completely unprompted.”

“So, is there any hope of you… Joining us?”

“You mean working here, or studying here? Either way, no. And I’m not trying to dismiss you or your school or anything, it’s just that I’ve seen your budget and you really cannot afford me. I don’t think you could really afford to pay anyone at this point.”

“And I thought you would say that, so my proposal is that you come here sporadically, not as a professor, but to give a speech, or a lecture, or something like that. Whatever you feel like. I can pay that! … If you give me a neighbor slash friend discount, probably.”

Jeff stayed silent. Craig begged.

“C’mon Jeffrey, pretty please? You’re the most important person who has ever set foot in this school after Luis Guzmán. You’re a professional. You know things. You probably know more things than all of us in this school combined.”

Jeff crossed his arms. “Keep going.”

Craig cleared his throat. “You’re inspirational. You dress really well. You are a treat to look at. It would be an honor to have you here in this school-”

Jeff put up a hand. “Ok, that’s enough. I’ll do it.”

* * *

It had been a few days since Craig had last seen Jeff. He had been regularly going to Greendale, even more than Craig assumed he would, occasionally going so far as to even doing a speech there completely free of charge. Jeff later admitted he did enjoy sharing his work with the students and how they listened to him so intently – both because of his knowledge and, of course, his looks. Truth is, Craig had already been counting on Jeff’s egotistical nature since he first brought him to Greendale.

Recently though, Jeff told him he had to take a few days to focus on his main work. Apparently some big case came up and his current small law firm could barely handle all of it. It’s what he told Craig while he helped Jeff carry a box full of paperwork to his apartment.

“If this had happened a year ago I wouldn’t be even breaking a sweat. I probably wouldn’t even know what the case was really about and I still would’ve won it anyway. But now I actually have to do the work and read the papers and get involved.”

“And now you have to _care_ about it?”, Craig teased.

“If by “it” you mean “making money”, then sure, I care deeply.”

“I thought you said you were enjoying your time at this law firm”, Craig commented, as he left a box on top of a pile of many others.

“… Yeah, fine, I said that. But consider this – I have a reputation to keep. So don’t go spreading it around.”

Craig smiled. “My lips are sealed!”

* * *

Jeff had pretty much locked himself inside his apartment for the next few weeks. A lot of commitment for someone who didn’t really care, Craig thought. A couple of days in, Craig texted him – because they had each others’ numbers now so that meant they were totally officially friends, and the fact they exchanged numbers primarily for professional reasons was irrelevant – asking if he wanted lunch. After that, he started leaving a container of food outside of Jeff’s door everyday.

While Jeff may not return Craig’s… Affections for him, that didn’t stop Craig from caring about him. He enjoyed doing things for Jeff both because yes, he had a massive crush on the man so he liked it when he could please him in some way, but also because he genuinely wanted them to become good friends, and they seemed to be heading right towards that path.

After returning from Greendale one day, Craig came home to find a package waiting for him. Taking it inside and opening it, he found a couple of nice, colorful formal shirts. He first wondered if it was left on his door by mistake, then thought of anyone who could have a reason to send him such a considerate gift. Could it have been? No… Could it?

The mere thought of it possibly being Jeff’s doing made his heart skip a beat. He had good reason to consider that, as stylish clothing was Jeff’s trademark after all. He didn’t want to outright ask him though, since it’d be just embarrassing to assume such a thing if Jeff hadn’t been the one to give him the gift.

But then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

‘i’m assuming you’re already home by now and already found it

and you’re probably not texting me nonstop bc you’re not sure it was me

so yes, it was

do you have any other friends with good tastes such as mine? I doubt it.’

‘jeffrey!! omg… i wasn’t even sure you considered us friends :’)’

‘craig please

if we weren’t friends before you totally bought me with all the homemade food by now’

‘AND you like my food? :’)’

‘yeah, and i know you go out of your way to make a no carbs menu just for me which is really nice

and i do make fun of your normal clothes sometimes so i thought the least i could do is give you some direction, right?’

‘jeffrey, you are THE best neighbor anyone could ever ask for

i knew that as soon as i saw you coming out of that elevator

that you were here to save me <3’

‘yeah i know’

‘WAIT!! i just realized

sure you hate my bland boring office clothes but

does that mean you like my costumes then?’

‘oh yeah you have some really good ones, quality fabric and all that

and you look very pretty in the ones I saw you wear

… you know I can hear you jumping and screaming from here, right?’

* * *

“It’s been a while since I put so much effort into something without using any shortcuts or taking the easy way out. And to have it actually pay off? Not going to lie, it does feel pretty great”, Jeff said, over a glass of wine he had invited Craig over for.

“So you mean to tell me this is all natural?”, Craig asked, motioning to Jeff’s face and body. “Now that’s impressive.”

“As a matter of fact, it is. The workouts and lotions just help perfect it, Craig. I am only human after all.”

“And here I thought I was living right next to a god this whole time. You really tricked me!”

Jeff laughed. “Honestly, it’s crazy how you compliment me way more than anyone I ever went out with.”

Craig tapped the glass on his hand. “Does that… Bother you?”

“No. But you should be worried I’m keeping you around just for that. And your food.”

“Well, I am here in your apartment drinking fancy schmancy wine with you, so I’d say it’s a pretty good deal”, Craig said, raising his glass.

“Looks great on you, by the way”, Jeff pointed to his shirt.

“Oh this? Just a gift I got from my secret admirer”, Craig fluttered his lashes. “Although I’m still wondering how he got my measurements so on point.”

“Well, he probably just has a really good eye for that.”

“Hm. Does it mean he would’ve had to stare at my body a lot to know something like that?”

Jeff laughed, then shrugged it off.

* * *

Craig woke up on his couch in a very confused state. He thought the night had gone pretty well... Up until a certain point. He remembered celebrating with Jeff on his apartment. He remembered being very flirtatious with Jeff and him being pretty cool with it. He also remembered Jeff’s face very closely, but that was usual since he thought a whole lot about that. But then he also had a vague memory of lips touching his and... His heart started beating way too fast.

Craig clutched his chest. Had he kissed Jeffrey while they were drunk? He would never forgive himself for doing something like that. Craig knew he was exaggerated about his passions at times, but only as long as it didn’t hurt anyone else! Plus, he couldn’t even being to think what he would do if Jeff was furious and didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. He would have to switch his phone number and search for a new apartment and-

There was a sudden knock on his door. Craig jumped. He wasn’t ready to talk to Jeff yet! Not without remembering what had happened between them.

Still, he opened the door to find a very tired man rubbing his face with one hand, clearly recovering from a hangover.

“Look, I’m not good at apologies”, Jeff started, “and especially not having to do it twice at the same place to the same person. Except right now my head also feels like it’s going to explode so it definitely doesn’t help my case.”

Craig tilted his head. He didn’t know what Jeff was talking about, but there were more important things on his mind, like the relief that he wasn’t mad at him and the need to get Jeff inside and help him feel better. It was a sin that anyone or anything could make him look so defeated.

“Jeffrey! You look much worse than I do. Wait, I don’t mean that. You could never look bad. But you do look like you feel much worse than I do. I can get you some aspirin and a glass of water, if you want.”

Jeff narrowed his eyes at him. “Really? So we’re good? I mean, I guessed you wouldn’t be too mad at me but I know what I did was out of limits.”

“Oh! To be fair with you I can’t really remember what happened. So I say... Come in and make yourself comfortable?”

A cup of water, aspirin, and Craig staring at him later, Jeff sighed.

“I really need to tell you what I came here to apologize for.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Yeah, but it’s embarrassing. For me. And before you get all sad about it after, it’s not because of you, it’s because of the way it happened.”

Craig furrowed his brow.

“We drank wine. Really good wine for that matter. And I’m guessing you have a way lower tolerance for alcohol than I do, which makes sense now that I think about it. Whatever. You won’t shut up about how amazing I am, and I’m feeling pretty good at the moment, so I...” Jeff pursed his lips.

“You what?”

Jeff averted his gaze, uncomfortable, then cleared his throat. “I kiss you. I kiss you and you don’t kiss back and I realize I fucked up and then you fall asleep pretty much right after. And then not only did I have to carry you home, I also had to finish that stupid bottle of really expensive wine all by myself and get a massive headache today.”

Craig thought about it, then nodded. “Wine does make me the most sleepy. I’m holding a glass watching a movie on my couch and then oops! I fall asleep. This couch used to be white, you know. All of this red is wine stains.”

Jeff stared at him. Craig let out a breath. “Alright, not the part I was supposed to be worried about, I got it. But I’m not upset that you kissed me, Jeffrey. Sure, it might not have been the best moment to do that, but you knew I liked you. In fact, you invite me to hang out with you knowing how I’ll probably be all over you most of the time and you’re just fine with that.”

“It’s different, Craig. As much as you can be obnoxious at times, you never cross the line. Like I did yesterday.”

“First of all, ouch… But I see your point. And well, you came here and apologized, and I’m telling you I accept it.” He got up and gestured to the door. “You must be so tired now, why don’t you go sleep it off for the rest of the day? It is Saturday after all! And you certainly deserve it after all that hard work.”

Jeff remained sited. “Are you by any chance trying to get me out of here so you can freak out about me kissing you?”

“Well, Jeffrey, I just want you to know that I’m trying really hard to be considerate and keep myself together right now and you’re not making this easier.”

“Craig. Just sit down.”

And of course, Craig obeyed right away.

“I’m going to make you a proposition right now, that we attempt to kiss, sober, with both of us fully aware of what we’re doing and see how it goes.”

Craig crossed his legs. “Oh, interesting proposition, mister Winger. And what arguments do you have-”

“Stop”, Jeff put a hand up. “This is not role play. You know what? Just do whatever you wanna do to me.”

Craig’s breathe hitched. Jeff waited, still, but Craig could sense his nervousness, even though he was trying really hard to appear as cool as always. Craig carefully touched Jeff’s cheek, caressing his face, before slowly moving his lips towards his, giving them both enough time to rethink the situation. But none of them hesitated, and they kissed for the second time. This time Craig would fully remember it. He would, in fact, write the date on his calendar so he would never forget it.

When they pulled away, Craig could see Jeff’s surprised expression.

“What?”, he asked.

“When I said that I thought I had just given you an invitation to jump on me. But this was pretty nice.”

“Well, once again, ouch. If you really knew me you’d know I’d want to cherish this moment. I can spend the rest of my pent up energy by being overly enthusiastic about this on Twitter. Not mentioning you by name, of course!”

Jeff sighed. “I’m sad to inform you pretty much everyone who reads your tweets knows the handsome devil you talk about is me.”

“Really?”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “But don’t worry, I’m okay with that. Everyone in this building also knows you’re head over heels for me and I’m still here, in your apartment, right?”

Craig blushed. “I didn’t realize it was that obvious to everyone else in the whole world.”

* * *

It was another great day at Greendale! Or at least that’s what Craig had announced for the whole school to hear. But even though he was an optimist, he was probably right. He passed by his favorite study group on his way to his office, so that already made the entire day much better. He made sure to tell them that, too.

“Dean, we appreciate all you do for us, but you can’t keep treating our group different from the rest of the students.”

“Wow, Britta, I didn’t see you complaining when you ate _my_ slice of mozzarella pizza on pizza day.”

“It was an accident! I didn’t know you were in the bathroom. And Abed didn’t do a very good job of keeping it safe if I ate it, did he?”

“She’s right. I committed to it, I should’ve done a better job. I’m sorry, Troy.”

“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on anymore. But I promise next time I’ll order a whole vegetarian pizza just for Britta and then you can all share the good ones and eat as much as you want.”

“Craig, you can’t keep spending money from the budget to please a group of five people in your school.”

Jeff was suddenly by his side.

“Oh! If it isn’t my charming boyfriend who came to visit.”

“He’s here like, every other day”, Britta commented.

“I think it’s sweet that he’s so supportive! And Jeff’s right, Dean. You shouldn’t be spending more with us.”

“Yes, we’re just like every other student on here. Some of us just happen to have the best grades in school, but we all know that’s not what matters the most after all”, Shirley said. She and Annie then smiled at each other.

“Sure. Anyway, you”, Jeff pointed at the group, “stop taking advantage of him. And you”, he pointed at Craig, “stop letting yourself be taken advantage of.”

“Only by you”, Craig replied. Shirley and Annie ‘aww’ed.

Jeff grabbed Craig and pulled him away. “As adorable as that was, I really am trying to help you.”

“I know, Jeffrey, I just can’t help it when I see you”, Craig said, resting his hands on Jeff’s chest. “But you’re right. You help me stand up and I help you… Lay down?”

“You help me become a better person, I help you become a better Dean. Do not buy an entire vegetarian pizza just for Britta. In fact, just spend less on pizza. This is a community college.”

“But it makes them happy!”

“Yeah, but so does having money to keep the water from the drinking fountains clean. Look, I have to go to work now. If you have any doubts just ask yourself – what would Jeff Winger do?”

“Hmmm, would he kiss his boyfriend right now before leaving?”

“Obviously.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i wrote this chapter a while after i wrote the first one and i feel it has a whole other vibe to it but that's ok i guess, right?
> 
> also while rereading i realized the food container part might have been my brain taking inspiration from a scene in the Dalmatian Mask fic by Mr_Motley so just wanted to mention that. not sure why we all write craig as being a really good cook but i love that tbh.


End file.
